1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:08,520 Let me take you back to 1938. It's October the 30th, a Sunday 2 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:12,040 evening, and families are are gathered in their homes around 3 00:00:12,040 --> 00:00:15,600 their radio. Radio had grown, had been 4 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:18,920 implemented and invented and brought in and it was becoming 5 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:22,800 very popular, in some ways even more popular than print. 6 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:25,480 And so people sat by the radios as they would listen to their 7 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:31,000 favorite programs and listen to songs and the radio, and they 8 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:34,400 would just hear the news and hear all these different things. 9 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:39,160 And one night, this night in particular was different from 10 00:00:39,160 --> 00:00:42,160 others. A voice came through the 11 00:00:42,160 --> 00:00:47,480 airwaves, a voice that was filled with urgency, dread and 12 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:50,880 panic. It was the voice of young Orson 13 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:55,000 Welles delivering what sounded like breaking news. 14 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:58,360 Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt this broadcast to 15 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:03,680 bring you an emergency bulletin. He began to report about strange 16 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:09,800 explosions on Mars, followed by a mysterious object that landed 17 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:12,920 in New Jersey and and then became some of the chilling 18 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:18,280 details as he reported that alien creatures were emerging 19 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:20,760 from the object. They were giant. 20 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:23,280 They were menacing. They had heat rays that could 21 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:25,760 blast through anything in their path. 22 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:29,840 And reporters were on scene and giving details, shocking, 23 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:32,120 horrifying details of what was going on. 24 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:35,640 There were screams and and destruction and blasts. 25 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:39,680 Towns were obliterated and people were fleeing the 26 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:43,080 broadcast. It felt so real, so immediate, 27 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:46,160 that the listeners across America believed it. 28 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:49,600 People ran into the streets warning their neighbors. 29 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:52,600 Phone lines were jammed as people tried to get updates, and 30 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:55,920 some people even packed their belongings and began to flee, 31 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:58,800 convinced that the world was coming to an end. 32 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:02,880 But here's the thing. It wasn't real. 33 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:09,080 It was all a work of fiction. It was a story that had been 34 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:14,640 adapted from H GS HG Wells novel The War of the Worlds, and Orson 35 00:02:14,640 --> 00:02:18,480 Welles had adapted it to sound like a radio broadcast in his 36 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:21,880 hopes that it would sound more realistic and more believable. 37 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:25,480 But he had no idea. At least he claims that people 38 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:27,520 would believe it as much as they did. 39 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:32,440 And so during this time, when there was already heightened 40 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:35,520 tensions because of wars and things going on in the country, 41 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:39,320 people believed it. And by the end of the day, the 42 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:42,240 nation was buzzing. Newspapers called it a scandal. 43 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:44,320 How could so many people have believed it? 44 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:47,400 Because at the beginning of the broadcast, he actually said, 45 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:50,360 this is a story. This is a story that I have 46 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:53,120 rewritten. But some people, whether they 47 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:57,520 missed that disclaimer at the beginning of the story or they 48 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,840 just got wrapped up in the story as it was going, they sort of 49 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:05,960 forgot and believed it. So many people believe the story 50 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,920 because it did feel so real. But no matter how real it felt, 51 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:15,560 it was just a story. And that's how many people see 52 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:18,400 the Bible. It's a great work of literature. 53 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:23,560 It has many great stories and fantastical tales, but that's 54 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:26,400 all they think it is, just a story. 55 00:03:26,920 --> 00:03:29,440 And this includes how they view the resurrection. 56 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:33,000 Most people believe that Jesus was an important person, maybe 57 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:35,760 even a prophet, but definitely not God. 58 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:39,880 He was simply a man. And for this reason, they don't 59 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:43,280 believe in the resurrection. And so they come up with with 60 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:45,880 ways that they can prove it. Maybe Jesus wasn't actually 61 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:49,280 dead, or maybe the disciples stole his body from the tomb and 62 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:51,400 hid it. But he couldn't have risen from 63 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:55,240 the dead. That's just a story, brothers 64 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:59,000 and sisters. We cannot underestimate how 65 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,920 important the resurrection is to our faith. 66 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:07,640 This morning that we're going to see through Paul the importance 67 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,240 of the resurrection. Without the resurrection, our 68 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:15,400 message is meaningless. Without the resurrection, our 69 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:19,720 witness is worthless, and without the resurrection, our 70 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:24,240 faith is fruitless. Let's bow for a word of prayer. 71 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:29,760 Lord, how can we keep our ways pure? 72 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:33,200 By guarding it according to Your Word. 73 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:38,680 Help us by the power of Your Spirit to seek You with all our 74 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:41,880 hearts. Help us not to wander from Your 75 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:45,240 commandments. May we store up Your word in our 76 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:47,960 hearts that we might not sin against You. 77 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:52,240 We praise You and thank You for Your Word and ask that You would 78 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:55,880 teach it to us, that we would declare Your rules with our 79 00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:59,080 mouths and delight in it more than riches. 80 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:04,080 May it be our joy to meditate on Your Word daily so that we don't 81 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:08,000 forget it and that You would be gracious to us so that we may 82 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:11,880 live and obey You as we study Your word together. 83 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:16,280 This morning, Lord, open our eyes that we may behold wondrous 84 00:05:16,280 --> 00:05:19,880 things in Jesus name we ask, Amen. 85 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:24,560 This morning we're going to be reading in picking up in first 86 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:27,800 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 12 through 19. 87 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:30,440 And and as you know, we've been going through the book of first 88 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:33,280 Corinthians as a church. And this is a Paul, a letter 89 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:35,680 that Paul had written to a church that he started in this 90 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:38,040 city of Corinth. And and as you know, we've been 91 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:39,880 going through this book and someone actually asked me the 92 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:42,320 other day, how long have we been in the book of First 93 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:43,960 Corinthians? And so I went back and looked 94 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:46,320 and we started it back in the beginning of May. 95 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:49,080 So we've been going through the book of First Corinthians for 96 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:51,560 seven months. But don't worry, we're almost 97 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:53,840 done. We've got a month left and we'll 98 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:56,000 finish the Sunday before Christmas. 99 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:01,600 But let's read together First Corinthians chapter 15 verses 12 100 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:06,320 through 19. Now if Christ is proclaimed as 101 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:10,760 raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no 102 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:15,120 resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection 103 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,480 of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 104 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:23,120 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in 105 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:28,400 vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be 106 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:32,600 misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that He 107 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:35,520 raised Christ, whom He did not raise. 108 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:39,640 If it is true that the dead are not raised, For if the dead are 109 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:45,080 not raised, not even Christ has been raised, and if Christ has 110 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:49,800 not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your 111 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:53,920 sins, then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have 112 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:57,520 perished. If in Christ we have hope in 113 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:02,760 this life only, we are of all people, most to be pitied. 114 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:09,440 Paul wants to emphasize here this morning the importance of 115 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:12,160 the resurrection. His first point is that without 116 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,400 the resurrection, our message is meaningless. 117 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:19,120 This is the message that Paul had broke, been proclaiming, and 118 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:23,280 Pastor Jonah taught us this last week, is that Christ died for 119 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:28,280 our sins, was buried, and then was raised on the third day. 120 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:32,120 And all of this was according to the Scriptures, meaning that God 121 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:36,080 was being faithful to fulfill all of his promises going back 122 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:40,240 to the Old Testament. This was the testimony of Paul. 123 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:42,080 This was the message that he was giving. 124 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:46,160 But he's saying if there's no resurrection, then this message 125 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:49,600 is meaningless. Because if there's no 126 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:52,600 resurrection of the dead, that means Christ didn't rise from 127 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:54,520 the dead. And if Christ didn't rise from 128 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:56,880 the dead, that means we preach in vain. 129 00:07:57,240 --> 00:07:59,800 Look at verse 14. And if Christ has not been 130 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:02,920 raised, then our preaching is in vain. 131 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:06,680 Now Paul, again, I've been preaching this message wherever 132 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:09,960 he went, everywhere he went. This is the message he was 133 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:12,720 preaching. Christ died, was buried, was 134 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:15,160 raised on the third day everywhere he would go. 135 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:17,520 He says this back in chapter 4, verse 17. 136 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:20,920 That is why I sent you, Timothy, my beloved and faithful child, 137 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:25,560 and the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ as I teach 138 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:30,800 them everywhere in every church. He taught the same message 139 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:34,919 wherever he went, and this was his desire to spread the gospel 140 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:37,799 through preaching so that people would come to know Christ. 141 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:41,840 But if Christ hasn't been raised from the dead, which is the 142 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:46,200 message he's preaching, then his preaching is useless. 143 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:49,000 It's pointless, it's meaningless. 144 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:52,840 A dead Jesus equals dead preaching. 145 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:56,880 If Christ hasn't been raised from the dead, this also means 146 00:08:56,880 --> 00:08:59,720 that we believe in vain. Look at 14. 147 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:02,360 He says if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is in vain 148 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:07,120 and your faith is in vain. Again, Paul was preaching this 149 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:10,200 message in hopes that people would come to faith in Christ, 150 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:13,800 that they would believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. 151 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:18,680 And people were they were receiving it, they were putting 152 00:09:18,680 --> 00:09:22,000 their faith in this message. But Paul is saying if the 153 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:26,320 message that we're preaching isn't true, then your faith 154 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:29,120 means nothing. It's in vain. 155 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,960 No matter how sincere you are, no matter how truly you believe 156 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:40,280 it, it is meaningless. A dead Jesus equals dead faith. 157 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:44,280 Without the resurrection, our message is meaningless. 158 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:47,880 It is useless to preach in it, it preach it, and it's useless 159 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:52,840 to put your faith in it. Maybe you've heard of the name 160 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:56,120 Bernie Madoff. He died a couple years ago and 161 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:59,040 he is single handedly responsible for the largest 162 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:04,320 fraud in U.S. history. Bernie worked on Wall Street and 163 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:07,640 he gained a reputation as a successful and trustworthy 164 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:09,840 investor. And so families and 165 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:13,640 corporations, because of their trust in him, invested some of 166 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:17,440 them, their whole estate, all, all that they had, they invested 167 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:22,640 through Bernie trusting him. But he wasn't a success story. 168 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:27,120 He was a con artist. Instead of using people's money 169 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:30,760 for legitimate investments, he would get money from some people 170 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:35,800 and then he would pay others. This made him look successful, 171 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:41,360 and he's estimated to have defrauded investors out of $65 172 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:45,800 billion. And in 2008, when the financial 173 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:48,800 crisis hit, his whole scheme began to unravel. 174 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:51,880 But because of all of the fear and the unrest of what was going 175 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:54,440 on, people all wanted to pull their money out. 176 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:56,760 But he didn't have enough money to pay everybody. 177 00:10:56,760 --> 00:11:01,680 And so he confessed what he was doing and was sentenced to 150 178 00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:05,880 years in prison. And he died back in 2021. 179 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:10,160 But families and charities believed in Bernie Madoff. 180 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:13,640 They trusted him, and they probably spread the news of 181 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:15,040 Bernie. He's such a good investor, you 182 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:18,640 ought to invest with him too. But it was all a lie. 183 00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:23,120 Families lost everything. Charities had to close their 184 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:26,120 doors, and some people even ended their lives because they 185 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:29,640 couldn't handle having given up and lost everything. 186 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:33,280 And it didn't matter how much they believed in Bernie. 187 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:37,360 The truth came out in the end, and all of their faith in Him 188 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:41,840 was meaningless. Brothers and sisters, the same 189 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:45,800 is true for us. If the resurrection is not real, 190 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:49,560 if it's not true, it doesn't matter how sincere we are. 191 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:52,720 It doesn't matter how passionate our preaching is. 192 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:56,200 It doesn't matter how strong our faith is. 193 00:11:56,600 --> 00:12:01,280 If Christ didn't rise from the dead, our message is 194 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:06,160 meaningless. Thankfully, our message is not 195 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:10,000 meaningless. We can have the confidence that 196 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:14,160 Christ rose from the dead. Last week, Jonah talked about 197 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:16,360 this, talked about this gospel message. 198 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:20,520 There Paul gives a list of people that Jesus physically 199 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:25,760 appeared to eyewitnesses of Jesus's physical resurrected 200 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:28,480 body. He appeared to Cephas, who was 201 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:31,200 Peter. He appeared to the 12 disciples, 202 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:34,920 he appeared to 500 believers at one time. 203 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:38,680 He appeared to James, he appeared to all the apostles, 204 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:42,960 and he appeared to Paul. All of this happened in 205 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:47,000 accordance with the Scriptures, meaning that it was a result of 206 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:49,960 God's faithfulness to his promises. 207 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:54,800 And since we can have confidence that Jesus truly did rise from 208 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:59,000 the dead, our message is not meaningless, but it is literally 209 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:02,440 the most meaningful message in all the world. 210 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:07,200 Therefore, we should put our faith and our trust in this 211 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:10,120 message, in this message of the gospel. 212 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:13,760 We should preach it with boldness, with confidence, 213 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,520 because it is the only message that has the power to save. 214 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:21,560 Paul's next argument is that without the resurrection, our 215 00:13:21,560 --> 00:13:26,480 witness is worthless. No matter how sincere our faith 216 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:30,720 or our belief is, if we believe and tell others about something 217 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:33,880 that's not true, our witness means nothing. 218 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:37,720 It's worthless. Paul's desire throughout his 219 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:40,520 ministry to Christ was to be a faithful witness. 220 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:42,920 We see this. He wanted to be seen as someone 221 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:46,120 who was trustworthy. He held that in very hard 222 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:47,720 regard. He wanted to be a man of 223 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:49,680 integrity. We see this in many of his 224 00:13:49,680 --> 00:13:51,640 letters. In his letter to the church in 225 00:13:51,640 --> 00:13:55,000 Rome, he says, I am speaking the truth in Christ. 226 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,720 I'm not lying. My conscience bears witness 227 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:01,280 about the Holy Spirit. Second Corinthians, he says, the 228 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:04,440 God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who he is, who is blessed 229 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:07,160 forever, knows that I am not lying. 230 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,400 In his letter to the Galatians he says in what I am writing to 231 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:14,920 you before God, I do not lie. In his letter to Timothy he 232 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:18,200 says, for this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle. 233 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:21,560 I am telling the truth. I am not lying. 234 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:26,600 He wanted to be a man of integrity, a trustworthy man. 235 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,680 He wanted to speak the truth, and we see that in this passage 236 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:32,840 as well, His desire to be faithful. 237 00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:37,440 Again, he had been preaching that Christ had been raised from 238 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:39,680 the dead. But if that isn't true, look at 239 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:43,720 what he says in verse 15 and 16. We are even found to be 240 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:48,240 misrepresenting God because we testified about God that he 241 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:50,960 raised Christ, whom he did not raise. 242 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:54,240 If it's true that the dead are not raised, For if the dead are 243 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:57,320 not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 244 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:00,640 What Paul is saying is that if Christ hasn't been raised, then 245 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:04,200 we're lying. And we can see how important it 246 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:05,960 was for him to be a man of integrity. 247 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:07,840 He would have. He would have been willing to 248 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:11,560 suffer himself rather than to be dishonest and to lie. 249 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:15,320 And indeed he did suffer for his faith. 250 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:21,920 He suffered imprisonments. He suffered beatings, often near 251 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:24,720 death. He suffered lashings. 252 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,720 He was beaten with rods, he was stoned, he was shipwrecked, he 253 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:32,920 was adrift at sea. He was in constant danger from 254 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:36,360 rivers, from robbers, from his own people, from Gentiles. 255 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:38,840 He was in danger in the city and in the wilderness. 256 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:41,320 No matter where he went, he was in danger. 257 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:46,880 Why would he be willing to suffer that way for something 258 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:52,200 that was not true? His desire was to be a faithful 259 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:55,840 and accurate witness because of his love for God, his devotion 260 00:15:55,840 --> 00:15:58,360 toward God, and his reverence for God. 261 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:04,960 But if Christ hadn't been raised from the dead, if Christ is 262 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:09,400 still in the grave, then all of that suffering, all of that 263 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:14,160 work, all of that faithfulness in his preaching was worthless, 264 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,880 was meaningless. It was for nothing. 265 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:24,000 Have you, have you ever been told by somebody, have you ever 266 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:26,240 been given an account of something and at first you 267 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:29,120 didn't believe it, but it turned out to be true later on? 268 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:32,440 I'm sure you could, Pablo, if you think about it, we've all 269 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:34,720 had situations like that. You first hear something, you're 270 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:36,440 like, no way, There's no way that's true. 271 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:38,640 But then you're like, wait. And all of a sudden it comes 272 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:40,240 true and you realize that it is right. 273 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,280 I had that happen to me a few years ago where we as a family 274 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:46,120 had had gone to the beach here. We spent the day there, a 275 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:48,120 wonderful day together at the beach as a family. 276 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:50,760 And, and we came home and we parked the van in the garage and 277 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:53,000 we're all tired. So we went inside and, and you 278 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:55,560 know how it is at the beach, you get dirty and sandy. 279 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:56,960 So everybody's got to take a shower. 280 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:00,680 So I was in the shower and, and there's a knock on the door and 281 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:03,640 my oldest son says, hey, dad, where's the van? 282 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:06,720 What do you mean? Where's the van? 283 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:08,920 The van's in the garage. Like I, I don't even know how to 284 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:11,640 answer that question. Like open your eyes and go look 285 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:13,280 at the van. He's like, well, I was just in 286 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:16,839 there and it's not there. And mom says she can't find the 287 00:17:16,839 --> 00:17:19,839 van. I'm like, you guys are crazy. 288 00:17:19,839 --> 00:17:22,880 What is going on? Like I, I don't know what I was 289 00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:25,280 thinking at the moment, but I did not believe it for a second. 290 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:28,920 I was like, you guys are crazy. So I got out and I was like, I'm 291 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:32,520 going to go show these people how to find a 4000 LB chunk of 292 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:35,160 metal. It's not that hard, you guys. 293 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:38,920 So I opened the garage door and it's like, there's no van. 294 00:17:40,120 --> 00:17:42,400 So we walk around the yard and the parking lot and it's like, 295 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:45,200 where's the van? Where'd the van go? 296 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:47,560 And so at first we thought, well, this is a prank. 297 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:50,440 Somebody in our family stole one of our key fobs and is hiding 298 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:52,440 the van somewhere. And it's, that's a, that's a 299 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:55,080 pretty far extent to go, but we, we have that much faith in our 300 00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:58,320 friends and family. So after calling about everybody 301 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:00,280 that we thought would do something like this and they're 302 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:02,800 all like, no, seriously, we didn't, we didn't do that. 303 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:05,120 We called the cops. We realized that our van had 304 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:07,640 been stolen. And so later on that night, 305 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:09,920 after midnight, we finally were able to find it. 306 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:13,720 And the cops drove me out to Northwest and Comber where the 307 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:15,720 van was parked. And we picked it up. 308 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:18,600 And so apparently the story is that a homeless man had gone 309 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:24,440 into our garage, stolen our van, drove to Northwest, took $30.00 310 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:27,800 out of my wallet, bought himself some dinner, tipped the seat 311 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:31,720 back and just slept. And that's where the cops found 312 00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:33,760 him. So anyway, we were thankful to 313 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,520 get our our van back. There was nothing wrong with it. 314 00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:40,360 But going back to to my son's testimony, I don't know that I 315 00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:41,320 was still would have believed him. 316 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:44,600 It was like so unbelievable in the moment that I don't know I 317 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:47,080 would have believed him. But once we found the evidence 318 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:51,160 that proved that his testimony was true, and this is the same 319 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:54,480 of the resurrection after Jesus rose from the dead, there were 320 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:57,000 so many people who doubted. Everybody doubted. 321 00:18:57,120 --> 00:18:59,600 Want to know why? Because dead people don't rise 322 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:04,680 from the dead. Thomas doubted the testimony of 323 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:06,880 the witnesses. The disciples doubted the 324 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:10,280 testimony of the women. The disciples on the road to 325 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:13,560 Emmaus doubted. And the disciples again doubted 326 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:16,560 when he appeared to them all in the room, when when he took some 327 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:18,880 food and ate it to prove that he was alive. 328 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:23,000 And even Paul must have doubted Jesus's resurrection because he 329 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:26,400 fought so hard to persecute the church and to bring them into 330 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:30,440 prison. But after appearing to so many 331 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:34,840 people in so many different ways, and seeing him ascend into 332 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:39,120 heaven, they could no longer deny that Jesus Christ had truly 333 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:43,640 risen from the dead. Christ's resurrection was so 334 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:48,560 evident to his disciples that they all gave their lives in 335 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:52,160 spreading the gospel as witnesses of all that God had 336 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:57,200 done through Christ. Without the resurrection, their 337 00:19:57,200 --> 00:19:59,280 witness would have all been worthless. 338 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:01,640 It would have all been meaningless and empty. 339 00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:05,720 But because the resurrection was true, they had a message of true 340 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:10,960 worth and of true value. We brothers and sisters can have 341 00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:15,000 the confidence to believe the testimony of these disciples 342 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:18,080 that Christ truly did rise from the dead. 343 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:20,920 And this should give us confidence to be faithful 344 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:24,680 witnesses to tell others of what God has done through Christ to 345 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:28,800 save people from their sin and give them the hope that they too 346 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:33,120 will rise from the dead. And when we tell others, when we 347 00:20:33,120 --> 00:20:36,960 share our witness, we are being faithful messengers and being 348 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:41,000 faithful and true to God. Paul's next argument is that 349 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:44,200 without the resurrection, our faith is fruitless. 350 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:47,640 Now we've seen that if Christ didn't rise from the dead, then 351 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:49,200 the message we have is meaningless. 352 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:52,840 If Christ didn't rise from the dead, our witness is worthless. 353 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:56,680 Now we see that if Christ didn't rise from the dead, our faith is 354 00:20:56,680 --> 00:20:59,440 fruitless. Without the resurrection, our 355 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:03,760 faith accomplishes nothing. It serves no purpose at all. 356 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:06,480 It doesn't benefit us in any way. 357 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:10,480 This is because sin remains unforgiven. 358 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:13,640 Look at verse 17. And if Christ has not been 359 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:18,920 raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 360 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:25,360 Jesus died to take the payment and the penalty for our sin. 361 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:29,760 And when Jesus was raised, it showed that God had accepted his 362 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:33,000 sacrifice. And now that Jesus is seated at 363 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:37,720 the right hand of God, he can plead for us and he is just to 364 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:42,280 call us just justified through his sacrifice. 365 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:46,600 But Paul's point is that Christ if Christ hasn't been raised 366 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:51,080 from the dead, your sin remains unforgiven. 367 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:54,080 It doesn't matter how strong your faith is. 368 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:58,200 If Christ is still buried somewhere, your faith is 369 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,520 fruitless. If Christ has not been raised 370 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:04,280 from the dead, the grave remains unopened. 371 00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:08,200 Look at verse 18. Then Paul says then those also 372 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:11,040 who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 373 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:15,440 If Christ hasn't been raised from the dead, then we won't be 374 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:17,640 either. And that means that that 375 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:22,760 everybody who has put their faith in Christ and died has no 376 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:24,600 hope. They've perished. 377 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:29,560 They're done. The grave remains unopened. 378 00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:33,520 There is no hope in any next life. 379 00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:40,360 This is all there is, which means that life remains 380 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:43,880 unfulfilled. Look at verse 19. 381 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:50,000 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all 382 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:54,920 people most to be pitied. Now, you may have heard this 383 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:56,920 line of thinking before, but some people will say, you know 384 00:22:56,920 --> 00:22:59,160 what? Even if Christianity isn't true, 385 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:01,880 if everybody in the world practiced it, it would still 386 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:06,440 make the world a better place. And while that is true to some 387 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:09,000 degree, that's not what Paul says. 388 00:23:09,360 --> 00:23:12,040 He doesn't say, you know what, it's noble for us still to 389 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:13,920 follow all this stuff. No, he doesn't say that. 390 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:19,560 He says if our faith is founded on a lie, that Jesus was raised 391 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:24,040 from the dead when actually he wasn't, then we are of all 392 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:26,360 people most to be pitied on the earth. 393 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:31,560 He goes on to say later in the chapter, if the dead are not 394 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:34,880 raised, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die. 395 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:38,000 His point is exactly what the world says. 396 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:40,080 This is exactly the way the world lives, right? 397 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:42,960 Since there's nothing on the other side, since life doesn't 398 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:44,960 matter, let's just enjoy this life. 399 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:46,480 He's saying they're actually right. 400 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:50,480 If there's no hope beyond the grave, then what does it matter 401 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:56,720 how we live? If our faith in Christ is based 402 00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:59,520 on a lie, it is totally fruitless. 403 00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:05,320 It accomplishes nothing. Now, if you're old enough, you 404 00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:10,760 may remember the Y2K scare in 1999. 405 00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:15,720 People feared that when it became 2000 at midnight, there 406 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:20,760 was going to be a global crisis. And this is because at the time, 407 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:23,200 there were a lot of older computers being used. 408 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:27,160 And what they did was for for the date that rather than having 409 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:31,600 a four, 4 digits for the year 1999, it was just two digits, 410 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:34,440 99. And so the fear and the worry 411 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:37,840 was that when it went to 2000, it would just be 00. 412 00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:40,440 And so the computers are going to be confused and they're going 413 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:43,800 to revert back to 1900 rather than 2000. 414 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:47,240 And this is going to cause a global crisis, that this is 415 00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:49,840 going to cause malfunctions in the banking and, and in 416 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:52,560 utilities and, and in transportation and government 417 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:55,720 systems. People began preparing for the 418 00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:57,240 worst. You know, maybe you remember it, 419 00:24:57,240 --> 00:24:58,280 maybe you did it. I don't know. 420 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:02,600 Some people began stockpiling food and clothing and, and, and 421 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:05,680 they basic necessities. Some people bought bunkers, 422 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:09,560 started getting survival gear. A lot of people emptied their 423 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:11,960 bank accounts, thinking again that the banks were going to 424 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:14,040 collapse. Some people quit their jobs and 425 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:15,720 go, well, this is the end of the world, I don't need a job 426 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:17,600 anymore. I don't know how that worked 427 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:19,640 afterwards, if they were able to get it back or not. 428 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:24,640 Well, what actually happened? Well, we're all here, so we know 429 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:28,120 the world at an end. But that transition to 2000 went 430 00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:30,680 pretty smoothly, actually. They began to prepare in advance 431 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:33,480 and to get ready for it. And there was only a few minor 432 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:36,320 glitches, but people had no proof or evidence. 433 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:39,280 They had no way of of knowing that their fears were going to 434 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:41,480 come true, But they still believed it. 435 00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:44,360 They still put their faith in that belief anyway. 436 00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:47,880 But it accomplished nothing. For all their faith, for all 437 00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:51,440 their fear and anxiety and worry, it was not able to bring 438 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:55,960 their fears to reality. And this is true for us as 439 00:25:55,960 --> 00:26:00,200 believers as well. If the resurrection is not true, 440 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:03,240 no matter how much you believe it, no matter how much you put 441 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:07,160 your faith in it, no matter how much you how strong your faith 442 00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:11,520 in your belief is, it doesn't matter if Christ didn't rise 443 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:14,800 from the dead. Your faith is fruitless. 444 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,400 Thankfully, we can have hope in the resurrection. 445 00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:24,080 Paul has given us confidence to believe it, and he does this a 446 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:26,760 number of ways by giving many different proofs for the 447 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:28,920 resurrection. We think first of Christ's 448 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,720 physical appearances, all these different people that Christ 449 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:35,000 appeared to gives us confidence to go. 450 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:38,040 All these, not all of these people could have been deceived, 451 00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:41,200 right? All of these eyewitnesses give 452 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:44,560 us confidence to believe that Jesus truly rose from the dead. 453 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:47,280 And the fact that it was in fulfillment, Christ's 454 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:49,720 fulfillment of the Old Testament, helps us to see that 455 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:51,920 this is actually God's plan from the beginning. 456 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:55,960 When the disciples began to tie all of these references, all of 457 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:58,240 Christ's life, death, and resurrection back to the Old 458 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:01,440 Testament, they were able to see this is God's plan the whole 459 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:04,440 time. And Christ actually fulfilled 460 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:07,160 all of God's Old Testament promises. 461 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:10,760 We see the work of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts. 462 00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:13,880 We see how the Holy Spirit worked in and through these 463 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:16,520 disciples and in and through these believers through miracles 464 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:21,320 and wonders proving that their message was true and the 465 00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:25,640 disciples own commitment to give their lives as a testimony to 466 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:29,760 all that God had done to be willing to die for their faith. 467 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:34,160 All of these evidences for the resurrection of Christ give feet 468 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:37,880 to our faith. We can have confidence that our 469 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:40,800 sins are forgiven through faith in Christ. 470 00:27:41,120 --> 00:27:45,920 We can have confidence that Christ rose from the dead, and 471 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:50,000 we will as well. We can have confidence not just 472 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:53,680 in this life, but also in the life to come. 473 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:56,840 And since we can be confident that Christ truly has been 474 00:27:56,840 --> 00:28:00,160 raised from the dead, we can be confident that for those who've 475 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:04,560 placed their faith in Christ, we too will be raised from the dead 476 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:07,760 on the last day. And this wonderful hope gives us 477 00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:12,600 confidence to be able to endure difficulty, hardship, struggles 478 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:17,000 in this life, knowing that we have hope with Christ in heaven. 479 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:20,920 That's just what just Justin Martyr did. 480 00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:25,840 Justin Martyr is considered one of the early heroes of the 481 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:28,880 Christian faith. He was born around the hundred a 482 00:28:29,120 --> 00:28:32,760 hundred ADS so just shortly after the life of Christ and and 483 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:35,120 the disciples. But he didn't grow up knowing 484 00:28:35,120 --> 00:28:38,240 about Christ. He grew up in a Pagan family and 485 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:41,040 spent much of his youth searching for what the meaning 486 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:45,000 of life is, and he studied all the great philosophies of the 487 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:48,960 day and yet always felt that craving in his heart unanswered. 488 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:53,600 And one day, as Justin was walking along the seashore, he 489 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:56,720 met an elderly man who changed his life forever. 490 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:02,360 This man told Justin about Jesus, the promised Messiah, the 491 00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:06,520 fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies and the true source 492 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:11,200 of wisdom and light. And for Justin, it was as if a 493 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:15,720 light switch had been flipped on and he embraced Christianity 494 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:19,360 wholeheartedly. He became a bold teacher and 495 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:23,720 defender of Christianity and and wrote defending articles 496 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:26,200 defending the Christians in the way they lived in their 497 00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:29,440 practices against those who are trying to slander them. 498 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:35,360 He argued that Jesus was the Lagos, the the divine Word, the 499 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,640 ultimate reason for the ordered universe. 500 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:46,080 But his boldness came at a cost. Around 165 AD, during the reign 501 00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:49,920 of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Justin and six of his students 502 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:52,720 were arrested and they were brought before the Roman 503 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:56,800 authorities and ordered to renounce their faith and worship 504 00:29:56,800 --> 00:30:01,200 the Roman gods. But Justin stood firm, saying no 505 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:06,120 one who is rightly minded turns from true belief to false. 506 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:10,680 And for his unwavering faith, Justin was scourged and 507 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:14,720 beheaded, becoming one of the early church's most well known 508 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:17,960 martyrs. And to this day, he's remembered 509 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:21,960 as a courageous defender of the faith, a man who sought the 510 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:27,800 truth, found it in Christ, and held onto it no matter the cost. 511 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:34,000 And his story reminds us that a faith worth living for is a 512 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:38,560 faith worth dying for. Brothers and sisters, since 513 00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:42,840 Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead, put all your 514 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:47,600 faith and your trust in Him. Our message is the most 515 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:50,960 important message in the world, since it's the only message that 516 00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:55,960 can save us from God's wrath. Our message and our witness are 517 00:30:55,960 --> 00:31:01,040 true because they faithfully tell of God's work through Jesus 518 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:04,880 Christ. Our faith in Christ is powerful, 519 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:09,360 and through it we have forgiveness of sins, the promise 520 00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:13,000 that we will be resurrected, and meaning and purpose in this life 521 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:17,160 as well as the one to come. And this gives us confidence. 522 00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:21,760 Confidence to live for the glory and honor of our Savior, even if 523 00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:26,560 that means dying for our faith. Faith in Jesus as our Lord and 524 00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:29,880 Savior is a faith worth living and dying for. 525 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:34,960 Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and 526 00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:39,440 Savior? One day everyone will be raised 527 00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:43,400 from the dead and will stand before the judgement seat of 528 00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:47,160 God. The Book of Revelation records 529 00:31:47,160 --> 00:31:50,800 this for us. Then I saw a great white throne 530 00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:55,680 and him who was seated on it. From his presence, earth and sky 531 00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:58,560 fled away, and no place was found for them. 532 00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:02,840 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the 533 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:07,320 throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, 534 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:10,840 which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged by what 535 00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:13,800 was written in the books according to what they had done. 536 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:17,120 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it. 537 00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:20,640 Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were 538 00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:24,120 judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 539 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:28,000 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the Lake of Fire. 540 00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:32,320 This is the second death, the lake of fire, and if anyone's 541 00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:35,920 name was not found written in the book of Life, he was thrown 542 00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:42,360 into the lake of fire. If God were to open those books 543 00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:48,480 and judge any one of us on the basis of our deeds, our works, 544 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:51,360 each and every one of us would be guilty. 545 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:57,480 But for those who place their faith in Jesus Christ as their 546 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:01,760 Lord and Savior, they will be be declared innocent because of 547 00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:06,120 their faith in Christ, because of their faith in His sacrifice. 548 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:10,600 And if you're here today, you're not here by accident. 549 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:14,760 God loves you. He wants you to experience the 550 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:17,040 joy that comes through knowing Christ. 551 00:33:17,160 --> 00:33:21,120 He wants you to experience the peace of having all your sins 552 00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:25,600 forgiven, all your guilt removed, of knowing that your 553 00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:27,240 sins are forgiven through Christ. 554 00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:31,680 He wants to give you the confidence that one day you'll 555 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:36,840 be raised from the dead, not to be thrown into a lake of fire, 556 00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:42,160 but brought into heaven to enjoy His glorious presence for all 557 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:45,320 eternity. I encourage you today to put 558 00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:49,640 your faith and trust in Christ as your Lord and Savior, and we 559 00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:51,120 would love to talk with you about that. 560 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:53,360 If you want to come up and chat and you have any questions about 561 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:56,240 what it means to be a follower of Christ, I would love to chat 562 00:33:56,240 --> 00:33:57,520 with you about that this morning. 563 00:33:57,760 --> 00:34:00,600 Don't wait. Talk to somebody today, a 564 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:04,160 friend, a family member, a loved one, someone who is a believer 565 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:07,440 who can who you can ask questions and talk to. 566 00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:09,360 We encourage you today to do that. 567 00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:16,280 Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for 568 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:18,679 the hope that we have in the resurrection of Christ. 569 00:34:19,440 --> 00:34:22,239 We thank you that he Ray he was raised from the dead, that 570 00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:25,760 through the power of your spirit, you raised him from the 571 00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:27,199 dead. And we can have the confidence 572 00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:30,760 too that through the power of that same Holy Spirit, we too 573 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:32,920 one day will be rise from the dead. 574 00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:36,120 Lord, we thank you so much for this wonderful hope. 575 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:40,560 We pray that that this hope would give us confidence to be 576 00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:44,639 willing to forsake the things of this life, to be willing to 577 00:34:44,639 --> 00:34:50,000 suffer and in to endure hardship because of your gospel. 578 00:34:51,159 --> 00:34:55,280 Or we pray that you would unify us as a church in this message, 579 00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:58,360 this message of Christ, his death, his burial, his 580 00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:01,600 resurrection, that that we would find unity in Christ by the 581 00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:04,920 power of your Spirit to work together to build your Kingdom. 582 00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:07,960 As we seek to spread this message, Lord, would you 583 00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:11,200 strengthen us to be bold witnesses, to be faithful 584 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:14,680 witnesses, and Lord, that you would work powerfully in and 585 00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:17,680 through our testimony, that you would bring people to faith in 586 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:19,560 Christ and save people to yourself. 587 00:35:20,560 --> 00:35:22,880 We pray and ask this in Jesus name, Amen.